Fred
by SveaR
Summary: While the team enjoys a night out, Jess gets a call from someone called Fred.   Becker is 'slightly' irritated.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Just a little idea that popped into my mind, and I couldn't get rid of it. Hope you enjoy it! Please leave me some comments.

Disclaimer: Don't own the show and the characters (except Fred and Marc)

Jess skipped out of the ARC happily. A rather boring day, filled with too much paperwork and no anomaly alert, had come to an end.

While everyone had complained more than once during the last few hours about the lack of excitement, Jess couldn't get her mind off of the next day: her (and everyone else's) day off.

She had been planning to redecorate her living room for months and finally was able to convince Abby and Connor to help her. She had asked Becker today too, but he had already plans for the day. What it was exactly, Jess was dying to know, but didn't dare to ask the Captain.

Instead, she concentrated on how she wanted her living room to look like at the end of the day.

She planned to paint three walls in a light orange, and the one wall with the dining table in front was supposed to be the highlight of the new look.

She imagined it with scenery: a flowering field. The lower one third of the wall was supposed to end up being green and the rest in light orange as well, to indicate the setting sun. Jess had gotten various wall stickers shaped like flowers to make the field complete.

Deep in her thoughts, Jess didn't pay attention to where she was going until she nearly bumped into Becker who was talking to Connor and Abby in the parking lot.

"Sorry! Wasn't looking! I was thinking about re-decorating my living room tomorrow. And like I said..." Jess started rambling with a slightly red colored face, but was cut off by the Captain.

"Jess, it's okay, nothing happened." He suppressed a grin, ignoring the giggles from Abby and Connor. One day the nervous rambling, together with the blushing and the innocent eyes of Jess, would be his downfall, he thought to himself as he watched her trying to hide her blush.

"Listen, why don't we all go out for a pint before we call it a day?" Abby piped up, pulling Jess' and Becker's attention away from each other.

Forty-five minutes later the four of them sat in a pub with their choices of beverage in their hands lost in light conversations about the ARC, the latest news and Jess' renovating plans.

Suddenly Jess mobile went off.

"Fred, I can't believe it's you!" Jess beamed at the voice coming from the other end of the line. Becker looked confused, glancing from Jess to Connor and Abby, who only grinned. "You're in town? When?" There was a pause as the person answered, then, "Tomorrow? Great! You want to come over? I could use some more help painting my living room! I can't believe I'm finally seeing you again! It's been too long. Is Marc there too?" This time the pause on Jess' side was longer and her smile grew bigger and bigger while she listened. Jess was practically glowing, her happiness radiating through the whole pub. "Great, tomorrow it is! See ya!"

Jess snapped her mobile shut, while Becker snapped out of his daze. "Fred?" His voice steady like usual not giving away the uncomfortable feeling rising in his stomach.

"Yes, isn't that great? Fred and Marc will come over tomorrow to help as well. They are in town. Abby, Connor you finally get to meet them! I am so excited! This will be soooo much fun!" Jess voice was cracking of excitement. She then turned around to Becker, touching his arm lightly. "Too bad you can't meet them!" Her voice filled with a little sadness but her eyes still dancing in delight.

Full of adrenaline Jess jumped up, declared she'd get another round of drinks, and bounced towards the bar.

Becker's eyes followed the twirly little field coordinator before he turned back to Connor and Abby.

"Fred? Marc? Anyway, Marc okay, but who is called Fred nowadays?" Now it was easy to tell that he was confused about the unknown people.

"Yeah, as if Hilary was any better!" Connor muttered, just to earn a glare from the man in question, but a chuckle from Abby.

Before Connor say anything else, Abby kicked his leg lightly to stop him from giving the 'secret' away just yet. She enjoyed the jealousy shining through their oh-so-tough friend's eyes too much. Luckily Connor got the meaning, shut his mouth and only smirked at the Captain.

Jess returned to their table and handed the drinks to the others. She started to ramble about Fred. Marc seemed long forgotten.

Becker didn't pay attention to what was said anymore. He kept watching Jess silently and jealousy, not that he would ever say it out loud, rose inside him. He wanted to be the reason that Jess was glowing, the reason her eyes shone with happiness. Sure he had been the reason before, but this felt just wrong now.

Suddenly he couldn't take it anymore. "Listen Jess, I will change my plans for tomorrow; I'll come around at noon to help as well! I can't make it earlier though." Abby smirked at the head of security, Connor nearly spit his drink while trying to hide his laughter behind coughs and Jess stared at Becker in surprise.

"Oh, Becker, this is great! But you really don't have to do it! Not that I don't want you to come and help now, but I would just feel bad if you'd change your plans for me!"

"No problem! I just promised my neighbors I'd go grocery shopping for them. I will get that done in the morning, and then I can come over around noon!" While Becker had left the others surprised before, he had them now staring stunned at him.

Abby was the first to find her voice again. "You do what? You go grocery shopping for your neighbors?"

"They are in their seventies and just need help every now and then. Usually they invite me for lunch after, but I will tell them that I have to help a friend. I'm sure they will understand."

"Aww, our action man is a softie!" Connor squeaked. Before Becker could make an attempt to hit, kick or shout at the computer geek, Jess jumped in to help. "Well, Becker, I think it's absolutely sweet of you to help them out!" She smiled at the soldier genuinely.

The team sat a moment in silence before Jess returned to her favorite topic of the night: Fred and Marc. Becker emptied his pint with one gulp and said his goodbyes before leaving the pub rather suddenly.


	2. Chapter 2

Becker hadn't slept well that night, his thoughts kept drifting back to Jess and how excited she was to see Fred (and Marc) again. To his surprise, Becker didn't mind much about Marc, but he definitely did about Fred. The light in her eyes whenever she mentioned this ominous guy couldn't mean anything good, at least not from Becker's viewpoint.

He finished his shopping task quickly, excused himself from lunch and pretended to not notice the knowing wink of Mr. Thompson when he mentioned Jess' name.

At half one he arrived at Jess' flat and as he rang the bell, his heartbeat sped up, unsure of what to expect on the other side of the door.

Within seconds he was greeted by the flashing smile of Jess. He took her appearance in, the young girl was dressed in a light blue jean hot-pants and a bright red top with a big smiley face on the front. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail and dashes of orange paint were covering her face and hair.

Becker reached out and wiped a paint-splatter from her nose. A shiver ran down Jess' spine and the Captain seemed surprised by his own movement, for a moment they could only stare at each other.

"Hey," he broke the silence, in a husky voice. It took Jess a moment longer to compose herself, but then she stepped aside and motioned Becker to come in.

"Hi! I'm glad you could make it!" He could tell Jess was about to ramble on as he followed her into the living room. "Fred and Abby have gone to get us all pizza; they should be back soon, though! But meet Marc for a start!"

Becker was slightly surprised as he spotted Marc. Marc was about the same height as himself, had dirty blonde hair which stuck out in every possible direction. Marc approached him with a welcoming smile, reached out to take Becker's hand and pulled him into a brotherly hug, before the soldier even had time to react.

"It's so good to meet you! I'm Marc, Fred's..."

"Colleague!" Connor jumped into the conversation just in time as Abby and Fred appeared behind Becker.

Abby gave Marc a sign not to give away that they had arrived already.

Fred and Marc had been filled in about the constant flirting between Jess and Becker during the morning hours and what had happened in the pub after Fred called. Both of them were just too glad to help letting Becker suffer a little.

"Yep, we are both dancers on the same Musical tour at the moment. We have a week long break and Fred way dying to see Jess again. Jess has been the main topic for the past few weeks. Seeing the two of them together is just too funny. I know that Freddy is dying to meet you!" the blonde man grinned at Becker.

Jess watched the scene from the side and suddenly it hit her, she had never mentioned Fred in a conversation with Becker and she could only assume who he thought he'd be meeting today, by the look on his face. But before she could save her crush, Fred decided it was time for an introduction.

Becker nearly jumped as someone grabbed his hand from behind, twirling around under his arm and coming to a stop in front of him. "Hey, I'm Fred!" A girl just as small in physique as Jess smiled at him widely.

"My name is actually Frederica, but everyone calls me either Fred or Freddy. I'm Jess sister. We are twins, really, but I'm the older one."

"Only by two minutes!" Jess moved over to her sister and hit her gently on the arm.

Fred rolled her eyes at her twin before turning back to Becker. "But still, I'm older. Jess is the brains of the family, but since you work with her, I take it you know that already." The girl looked at the soldier with big eyes, waiting for a response.

Becker wasn't able say a word; he gave Frederica a closer look. She wore dark green baggy Capri trousers, a black top and her hair, which was a few shades lighter then Jess', was pulled back into a messy bun and covered by a red bandana.

Her whole appearance reminded Becker more of Abby, when he first met her, but her expressions made it obvious that she and Jess were twins. They had the same twinkle in their eyes as they smiled and the pout of their lips was identical.

"Becker, are you alright?" Connor piped up from behind, causing the captain to snap out of his daze.

"You're a girl!" the words were out before Becker could stop them, and only Jess saw him blush slightly. The others were way too busy to hide their giggles from the head of security to notice the color on his cheeks.

"Yep, last time I checked!" Fred winked at him, "And from what I last heard, it's nearly impossible to change from a girl to a boy overnight unless plastic surgery is involved in any way. And trust me; that is out of question for me!" Becker coughed, shocked at the unexpected answer. Everyone in the room except Becker burst out laughing.

"I see the rambling is a Parker-Thing." Becker winked at Jess.

"No, we aren't rambling; we are just giving useless information away." Fred retorted right back, her whole body language giving away how much amused she was by the conversation.

It was Jess who suddenly felt bad for Becker. To save him, she pulled him out of the room by the arm.

"Are you alright?" she asked when they were in the hallway, away from the others. Her eyes were filled with concern. "I should have told you about Fred earlier I guess. I'm sorry! It's just that…" Jess was stopped in her words by Becker's finger on her lips.

His eyes lit up and a small smile appeared around his lips. Jess let go a breath she didn't know she was holding.

"Yes, Jess, absolutely. I'm just a little surprised. I thought…" he trailed of as he realized that he had to make a move now, or he would end up in a similar situation again, but then maybe with a real guy. "I actually thought Fred was a guy." He leaned in closer and whispered in her ear, "I have to admit I was jealous that some other guy would make you as happy as you had been after the call yesterday."

With a blush creeping up her cheeks caused by the sudden closeness to the captain, Jess backed away from Becker to get a better look at his face, "So you are not mad at me, or Fred?"

Becker gently brushed a strand behind Jess' ear that had fallen loose. "No Jess, I'm not mad! There is just one thing," he smirked at the younger girl in front of him, "You have to make it up to me!"

Jess' eyes went wide, worried about what was coming now. "Okay," her voice was shaking audibly.

"Tonight, after we finished your room, you have to go out with me for dinner. But only you and me! Maybe even to the movies later."

"Like a date?" Jess was clearly flustered; she couldn't believe Becker would finally ask her out.

"Yes, like a date!" Becker pecked her nose, "but now we should finish your room first!" He took her hand and led her back into the living room where the others quickly got back to work. It was obvious they had been eavesdropping, but neither Jess nor Becker could care less.


End file.
